Hello Hi

As the summer approaches and the days get warmer, something changes slightly in the air. People smile more, are happier, are more willing to give themselves to lazy days spent lounging in the sunshine doing practically nothing. As summer rings in the changes, so does Girls That Gig!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Jemima and I’m the new blog editor for Girls That Gig. When offered the chance to take full control of it and mould it into anything, I jumped at it. Full creative control on a project as exciting as this is hard to turn down, especially when it’s as worthwhile and necessary as Girls That Gig.

When trying to explain the site to people, I’ve usually gone with the stock sentence: ‘Girls That Gig is a Leeds start-up that aims to showcase the work of women in creative industries.’ Fine, but it’s so much more than that. Girls That Gig acts as a challenge to the tradition and tendency to bypass the work of women for that of a man who is potentially more marketable, leaving good work at the wayside. It challenges the tendency to use women as tokens to prove a failed diversity. Girls That Gig is a middle finger up to anyone who has ever discouraged a woman for doing what she loves simply because of her gender.

As the blog editor, I aim to make Girls That Gig an open platform for discussion, showcasing a wide range of voices and issues. In fact, Girls That Gig is a bit of a misnomer, as I want to be able to discuss any issues that face women in any creative industry today. Even broader: I want it to be more like an open forum, a space for women to discuss anything at all that bothers them, be that sexism in the workplace, trans issues, or intersectionality. When I say anything goes, I mean anything.

In the current political climate, it’s important that there are some alternative forms of media that don’t shy away from discussing difficult things, or sugar-coat problems, and report the different sides to every issue. This is what I would love for the Girls That Gig blog to become, and what I actively aim for when looking for content.

So, in celebration of a change of weather and of direction, here’s a playlist of my favourite summer songs to keep you rolling through the seasons.